Israeli soldiers are sharing footage of Palestinians being detained in the occupied West Bank, despite the Israeli army’s pledge to take action over previous misconduct revealed by the BBC.
Legal experts said the shooting and the content posted online could amount to war crimes.
The BBC analyzed 45 photos and videos, including of detainees wearing Israeli flags.
The IDF said soldiers would be subject to disciplinary action or suspension in the event of “unacceptable behavior.”
It did not comment on the individual incidents or soldiers we identified.
International law says detainees must not be subjected to unnecessary humiliation or public curiosity, but human rights experts say posting footage of a detention does just that.
In February, BBC Verify reported on inappropriate behavior by IDF soldiers on social media during the Gaza war, which began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, which killed approximately 1,200 people. More than 252 people were taken hostage. The Hamas-controlled health ministry says the Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people.
In our earlier investigations, we noticed and began investigating similar patterns of behavior in the West Bank, where violence surged during the same period.
While the BBC has previously reported on inappropriate behavior by Israeli soldiers on social media, and the military has subsequently pledged to take action based on our findings, former Israeli soldier Ori Givati said hearing of such activity Still going on, he wasn’t shocked at all.
Breaking the Silence is an organization of retired and active-duty Israeli soldiers dedicated to exposing alleged misconduct in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). kind of behavior.
“It has no impact. They [Israeli soldiers] Encouraged and supported by the top ministers of the government,” he said.
He said this is consistent with a mentality that the military already subscribes to.
“For Palestinians, the culture of the army is that they are just targets. They are not human beings. This is how the army teaches you to behave.”
Since Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, land that Palestinians hope will be part of a future state, Israel has built some 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews. The majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
